Can someone please explain to me how Annihilator continue to release albums? I can't understand how any right-minded record label produces this crap. 2007's Metal ranks as one of the worst albums I've ever heard, a truly horrendous record that was more nu-metal than actual metal. Everyone seemed to agree that it was an insufferable release, following up another terrible album, Schizo Deluxe. It came to my surprise that a major label would release another album by the once glorious outfit. Here we have their recent self-titled album. It's not as bad as Metal -- frankly, nothing can be, but it's still really bad. For any other band, this would be jaw-dropping -- a shocking display of creative ineptitude and senselessness. But for Jeff Waters and crew, this is sadly expected.

The only thing making this better than their previous atrocity is the occasional enjoyable melodic passage. The beginning of the album, for instance, actually sounds damn good. Before long though, Dave Padden's moronic shout rears its ugly head, and it doesn't leave. His vocals sound like a 15 year old's poor attempt at being tough and angry. The solos are simple-minded and often flat out irritating. This is far from thrash, and sounds something like a hybrid of Arch Enemy styled modern metal, and even slam metal, all coming together to create a third-rate groove metal sound. This really sounds like a thrown together, curtain jerking local metal act destined for nowhere, but it's Annihilator. Some albums are boring and uninteresting; this album is actively bothersome.

No band has declined as severely as Annihilator, not even Sepultura, In Flames, or Metallica. . Annihilator were once a good band. In 2010, they are one of the worst bands in metal, possibly the worst band.